The Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in properties only a few metres from their more affluent counterparts in nearby Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that once linked them.
“It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”
A Stark Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of official statistics shows how deep disparity often exists, at times across little more than a short distance of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Decades of austerity and lack of funding mean a majority of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the most deprived in the country.
The geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the quantity of locations where disadvantaged and well-off residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the poorest areas bordered one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data.
A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land
At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the country and starkly apparent. The wall is much more than a metaphorical divide; it creates very real problems for everyday life.
- School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute detour.
- Access to key amenities like grocery stores, schools and employment centres is made more difficult.
- The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other issues.
“You try to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the rusted barricade.
Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship
Within a local community centre, staff emphasise that support does not recognise addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” explained director Tracey Good.
Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the least deprived 10% overall.
Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment.
“They might have larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said a long-term resident, aged 63. “It’s likely many people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”
The economic divide is evident: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide comparable homes go for about £410,000.
Residents speak of a palpable sense of being overlooked. “This part of the community is neglected,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our amenities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are related to poverty.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an ever more divided society, where prosperity and need are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.
